Deep Down, Pt. 56

SO: I have been playing a ton of Celeste lately, and boy, do I recommend it heartily to anyone who enjoys tough-but-slickly-designed platformers. On the surface, it most closely resembles stuff like Super Meat Boy, but for me, it's really scratching the same itch as the brutal endgame stages of recent 3D Mario games... possibly because of the Mario-esque way each stage revolves around a clever new mechanic that puts a unique twist on your core abilities. Pretty rad!

We return on Wednesday with our next comic. See you then!

-Sam Logan

Mar 15, 2018

Sam and Fuzzy Q & A: Tar EditionGot a question you want answered? Just drop me an email with "Q & A" in the subject line!

"Doesn't Raphael's statement about how inhumans 'fall to pieces' when exposed to tar contradict what we have seen previously? Multiple inhuman Committee members have been exposed to tar via Brain, Rexford included, and are still in one piece. And Fangy McBats, who seems to have received the overdose that Raphael refers to, exhibits the same brain damage as a human would in the same circumstance, while Raphael claims that reaction is exclusive to humans. What gives?" -Dawson

I want to be careful here, because ultimately, the tar is a magical fantasy substance, and I don't want to enter "biologically explain how a dragon breathes fire" territory. (That's just not the kind of fantasy I like to write!) But I will spell out the internal logic that I'm following, if anyone is curious.

"Falling to pieces" is what happens to inhumans when they come into contact with large quantities of the tar in its pure, untransmuted goo form. Smaller quantities can cause anything from minor memory loss to severe brain damage, both in humans and inhumans. As Raphael mentions, the exact amounts of tar required to achieve this range of effects have to be carefully measured, and the specific amounts probably vary from species to species.

"Demons" like Brain and Hart, on the other hand, are a different beast entirely. They're still tar, but tar that has slowly mutated into a living creature with a personality and a relatively solid form -- a shell that holds a consciousness, as Brain put it. This mutation seems to stabalize the tar somewhat, and it appears creatures like Brain are able to exercise abilities similar to the effects associated with pure tar, but in a weaker and more controlled way. Brain is able to choose if and when he affects a person's memories. But once he starts, he sometimes loses control of the process, as he did with Fangy. As with pure tar, some people -- particularly but not exclusively inhumans -- just seem to be more sensitive to the effects of demons than others.

Brain might also be able to, er, "disassemble" an inhuman, but probably at the expense of burning up a fair bit of the tar that keeps his form alive. So it's probably not a smart move from a survival perspective!

"Okay, so I've learned that Keller is a problem person not only to Sam but to Rexford as well. So I have to ask... why would Rexford entrust the entire peacekeeping force of the Underground that was originally designed for violent takeover to... well... anyone, really?

Relatedly, if Rexford truly intends for no one to ever visit the Pit under any circumstance, why doesn't he attempt to destroy pit codes?" -Claire

These are both fun questions, so I thought I'd answer them both!

I don't think Keller is inherently a problem person for Rexford, any more so than the rest of the Committee. He's just one of the more ambitious members, and one who would be particularly tempted by the tar. But neither of these things would be issues if he hadn't just learned about Rexford's darkest secrets and rule-breaking past.

As for the Erasers... Keller may currently be occupying Mafia HQ, but I don't think he was entrusted with the Buddy Bots. They were almost certainly escorted away to continue working directly for the Erasers. The Erasers don't take orders from any particular member, but Keller has been able to rally a force of them here because he's caught Rexford violating Committee Status Quo laws. They're there because Rexford is a Class 1 Status Quo violator, not because of Keller's personal ambitions.

As for your second question, I think even Rexford never had enough clout to convince all the other members to destroy their codes. They're kind of central to the Committee's structure... prized possessions that symbolizes the theoretical equality of the members, and their superiority over outsiders. It is possible that Rex may have destroyed physical copies of his own number... but unless he also forgot it entirely, that wouldn't have stopped Brain from stealing it from his dino noggin.

"Will we ever see the Blankfaces from Rexford's flashback again? You mentioned that this iteration of blankfaces went unnamed, but we could headcanon. I like the idea of Mr. Cross and Mr. Plus, because it fits in with the thematic "opposites" and appearances that you've done so far, and I feel like the white one always seems stiff (perhaps he's a little "cross?") and the black one seems more excitable (like he's looking on the "plus" side). " -Brian

I don't think we'll see them again, sadly! The list of significant things they did with their lives kind of begins and ends with this flashback... particularly since they both bought the farm shortly thereafter. Poor Cross and Plus, or whoever you were... we hardly knew ye!

That's a wrap for this week! See you on Monday with our next comic, team.